North Korea signed a non-aggression pact yesterday with South-East Asia in what officials and analysts said was a sign it wanted to be seen as a more responsible international player.

The signing came a day after unprecedented talks between foreign ministers of North Korea and five other nations involved in long-running negotiations aimed at ending the reclusive communist state's nuclear programs.

A ceremony to mark its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-East Asia took place after the Association of South-East Asian Nations Regional Forum, Asia's main security dialogue which includes North Korea among its 27 members.

North Korea's foreign ministry spokesman, Ri Tong Il, said joining the treaty was ''a symbol of its willingness to have friendly relations'' with ASEAN and to contribute to regional peace and security.

A professor at Korea University, Kim Sung-Han, said, ''The treaty comes as North Korea is seeking to reach out to the outside world.

''Through this treaty, it wants to send a signal abroad that it is prepared to act as a responsible member of the international community.''

Originally signed by members of ASEAN in 1976, the treaty has now been acceded to by 15 other nations.

Regional officials welcomed North Korea's accession to the treaty, the main principles of which include settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means, and renunciation of the threat or use of force.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he was excited by the prospect of North Korea joining the pact, which could help ease tensions.

''There is no reason why it should not, but we have to get the trust and confidence among the parties to enable that to happen.''

Spokesman for the series of ASEAN meetings in Singapore, Andrew Tan, said the signing was a small step, ''but every little step that we take towards encouraging North Korea to abide by international norms is a step in a positive direction''.

However, Carl Thayer, of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, said, ''This will have no measurable impact on North Korean behaviour towards China, Japan or the United States.''

Mr Tan said that while ASEAN welcomed the signing, the main diplomatic effort involving North Korea remained the six-party talks.

Wednesday's meeting in Singapore marked the highest-level talks in four years between North Korea and the United States as part of the multilateral negotiations on disarmament.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-Chun as well as the foreign ministers of Japan, Russia, South Korea and China. AFP